Email Encryption Technology Has Stagnated Since 1998
By
zdw
Front-window bakery material. Catches the eye, delivers the goods.
Summary
The article examines the stagnant state of email encryption technology, comparing the cumbersome process from 1998 to the present day in 2025. It highlights how email encryption remains essentially unchanged and in some ways worse, despite decades of technological advancement. The piece discusses the two main standards - S/MIME and OpenPGP - and their respective trust models, while critiquing the lack of progress in making email encryption more accessible and user-friendly for the average person.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledTo encrypt email in 1998 you'd run GnuPG from a terminal, importing the recipient's public key into your local keyring then copying your email text into a file then encrypting the file for that public key
In 2025, it's pretty much the same. In some respects, it's worse
S/MIME (RFC 2311) was standardized around the same time as OpenPGP (RFC 2440), in 1998
PGP's trust model is the 'web of trust,' though often TOFU in practice, while S/MIME's
You might also wanna read
North Korean Chollima Group Targets PHP Developers via Malicious Packagist Package
A malicious obfuscated JavaScript payload was discovered appended to tailwind.js in the Packagist development version dev-drewroberts/featur
socket.dev·5h ago
Microsoft uncovers supply chain attack: Compromised @antv npm packages steal CI/CD credentials via Mini Shai-Hulud malware
Microsoft has identified an active supply chain attack targeting the @antv npm package ecosystem. A threat actor compromised an @antv mainta
npm malware targeting Claude users leaks own GitHub token, reaches 676 downloads
An npm package called "mouse5212-super-formatter" targeting Claude users acted as information-stealing malware, reaching 676 downloads befor
theregister.com·1d ago
Attacker publishes 14 malicious npm packages impersonating OpenSearch and Elasticsearch libraries
A single npm user published 14 malicious packages over four hours, impersonating popular OpenSearch, Elasticsearch, DevOps, and environment-
briefly.co·2d ago
Extending Wazuh Detection with Clickdetect, OpenSearch PPL, and Sigma Rules
This blog post by "souzo" introduces clickdetect, a repository/tool designed to extend Wazuh's detection capabilities by integrating with Op
infosecwriteups.com·3d ago
FuzzingBrain V2: Multi-Agent LLM System Achieves 90% Vulnerability Detection Rate and Discovers 29 Zero-Day Flaws
FuzzingBrain V2 is a multi-agent LLM system for automated vulnerability discovery and reproduction in software. It addresses three key chall
arxiv.org·4d ago